Pageturners
by ResonatingLight666
Summary: "Beautiful, isn't it?" a steel cold voice broke in. Dareon. He smiled. "Hate to tell you, Jai, but we have another mission." "Where to?" "Ever heard of the Artemis Fowl books? We leave in an hour." AFxHPxInheritance
1. Chapter 1

_Co-written by me and That Lovely Bad One._

_Disclaimer: We, unfortunately, do not own Twilight, Artemis Fowl, Inheritance, Harry Potter, or any of the other recognizable books/characters in this fiction._

Chapter One.

The home of the Pageturners was a lush place, filled with unpredictable climate, and harsh beauty. There were oceans so vast that they lead to nowhere and forests with trees tall enough to touch the sky. Bottomless chasms stretched across the lands, and steep cliffs tumbled into the seas. Centered in the pitch black sky were thirteen lustering moons.

The main city was in the center of the plowed and fertile farmlands, with silver, bronze, and gold towers. The great terra-cota colored walls that surrounded the city protected it from elemental invasion of the beasts that called this place home as well. Time seemed to stand still there, and festivals were a priority.

As of now, the festival going on in the city was the Coming of the Sun. it began thirteen days before, and ended when the sun rose for the second half of the year.

Jai shook her head, clearing her fantasies of the Sun coming Festival. But she couldn't shake the feeling that she should be there, dancing with everyone else, not here in some godforsaken book. She knew that some where in the underbrush sat her friends, and comrades, Felix, Kai, Vedlemez, and Maxx. The rest had sat this one out. The pale girl was standing in the meadow, looking stricken. Someone whistled, long and long. Jai shifted. That was her cue. Laurent was coming.

It was Jai's and Maxx's job to make sure that the girl didn't die while Felix and Vedlemez herded the wolves to them. Kai was lookout.

She didn't pay much attention to the conversation that the vampire was having with the human girl, until the vampire sprang.

No. This wasn't supposed to happen. The wolves should have arrived by now. The girl's, Bella, screams became excruciatingly clear. Then Maxx and Jai broke the most sacred law of all.

They showed themselves.

Or rather, only Jai showed herself. Maxx jumped the vampire while she was invisible. Bella screamed when she saw Jai, who walked calmly towards her, and grabbed her arm. She knew what the girl would see wasn't pretty. She would probably think that Jai was just another vampire. She could pass for one, with her short black hair and pale skin. The eyes were a dead giveaway though. Not gold, or red for that matter, at all.

Jai closed her eyes and willed the poison to be flushed from Bella's veins. The girl quieted, and Jai touched her forehead. Bella fell into painless sleep. Maxx waited for Jai to come over and do the same to Laurent before she released her hold and became visible again. Maxx could be Bella's twin, albeit the sarcastic look that constantly hovered around her eyes.

Felix, his fair hair shining like silver, his green eyes looking around in horror. Vedlemez followed him, his black hair a helmet of black steel, looked grimly around at the mess. Time seemed to stop when Felix twitched his fingers, which, in truth, it actually did. That was his power, Timestop. Jai's was Neverending sleep, and Healing. Felix shook his head, his eyes trained on Jai.

"Why," he asked her. "Must you always break the rules?"

"I don't always-" he raised a hand.

"Inkheart, you killed Mo, and Elis had to bring him back. Every Little Bird that Sings, Comfort and Peach had a funeral planned for them. Once again, Elis saved your butt. The Mortal Instruments Trilogy, I think we all know what happened then," He added in a softer tone. "I can't save you from Exile a second time." He turned to the rest of them, Kai popped out of the woods. Her shoulder length red curls bouncing when she turned her head. Her blue eyes glinted, the color of the Pageturner's sky during the time between the coming of the sun and the going of the sun.

"What did I miss?" then she saw everyone, and the sleeping characters. "Oh. That."

Felix sighed. "Lets get them back in position. And quickly, I can't hold time back for long without collapsing the world." This was directed at everyone but Jai. She ran back to the trees, feeling a growing fury, and punched a tree. She doubled over, gasping in pain. She took a look at it. It was bleeding, and a piece of bone was sticking out of the skin. Jai swore softly, and healed her hand.

A twig cracked behind her, and she spun to see Felix, who was staring at her broken hand, a look of horror, anger, and despair in his eyes.

"Please don't hurt yourself again," he said softly. He made a grab for her newly healed hand, but she pulled it away.

"Don't Felix. Please don't," She looked around. "Are we done here?"

"Yes but-"

"Good. I'm sick and tired of this place. If we leave quickly, we may be able to see the sun rise," she looked to the swirling mass of leave only a few yards away, and ran to it.

She was gone in a breath.

At the Spire, the home for all active Pageturners, Jai could see everything. Down in the streets lanterns hung over the heads of thousands. The river that snaked through the city was dotted with lights, boats, keeping kissing lovers afloat.

A small smile teased the edges of Jai's lip. Pageturners were allowed to lead a romance, but most chose not to. It was easier to not allow yourself to love instead of having your heart broken when your love never came home from a mission. The horizon began to glow red.

The sun was rising.

As the molten gold ball began to inch up, Jai squinted and covered her eyes while they adjusted. The light chased light across the ocean, then the cliffs, then the Abysses, then the farmlands, and finally the city. Cries of joy rose from the streets.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" a steel cold voice broke in. Dareon. He smiled. "Hate to tell you, but we have another mission."

"Who's coming?"

"You, me, Elis, and Terra." He smiled, and his eyes glinted like pieces of flint. She suppressed a shudder as he tore through her mind. "Don't mess up like last time."

"Where to?"

"Ever heard of the Artemis Fowl books? We leave in an hour." he turned on his heel and left, probably to pack. His gray hair was combed back, unlike his normal mess of a head. He straightened his suit.

"We never sleep, do we?"

"The life of a Pageturner is never easy," he replied over his shoulder. "Get used to it."

Jai sighed, and went to pack as well.

She didn't have very many belongings. You didn't need them if you were active. Jai sighed. Her entire wardrobe could fit inside a tiny handbag. She also brought some of her favorite tools, a stainless steel switchblade, and a small locket. It had a picture of the San Fransisco skyline. On the opposite side there was a picture of a man and a woman, both completely and utterly normal. There had been a severe lack of that for Jai since the car crash, and since the Pageturners found her. Behind that was a little worn slip of paper, the ink having smeared long ago. Only a thin, spidery signature was still visible. She slipped the paper back behind her parents, and hefted the bag over her shoulder.

This was all she needed.

There was an elevator that ran down the side of the Spire, a massive thing that could carry dozens of Pageturners at a time. That was a long while ago, now, there were only around a hundred Pageturners left. The rooms in the Spire remained empty and cold, gathering inches of dust.

The world outside was a beautiful thing in sunlight. The colors richened, and the sky was a blue that bore most resemblance to a robin's egg. The soil was a deep coffee brown, and the grass was greener then anywhere else.

The portal was in the fountain of the Plaza. The spray of water gave rainbows to the eyes of the masses. A large pool sat in the center of the arcs of water, and little children splashed through it. A swirl of color showed where the portal was. Dareon was standing next to Elis, Felix's twin sister. She shared his eyes, though her hair was extreme silver. Terra came from the other street, looking shyly from under the cover of the dirty blonde curtain of hair. When they were all gathered in front of the fountain, Dareon took a step forward into the light, and disappeared. Elis went next, then Terra. When it was finally Jai's turn, she was horribly aware of the silence in the Plaza.

She took one step forward, and drowned in the wave of light and comfort.

_Thanks for reading! Please review._

_~ResonatingLight666 & That Lovely Bad One~_


	2. Chapter 2

_Disclaimer: This story was co-authored by That Lovely Bad One (aka TheNewKoboi of AFC). She is not J.K. Rowling, no matter how much she may want to be. Neither am I. Therefore, we do not own Harry Potter __or any of the other recognizable books/characters in this work of fiction._

Chapter 2

Soft, fluffy snowflakes sparkled in the sunlight as Felix and Vedlemez watched various wizards and witches walk the streets of Hogsmead. Giddy third-years on their first trip to the village swarmed in front of Zonko's, fascinated by the giant world of candy and pranks.

"Look. Here they come," said Maxx, walking up to stand beside them.

"Who? Harry and the gang?" asked Vedlemez.

"No, idiot. Who did we come here to keep in line? Ron and Ginny."

Sure enough, the two redheads soon came into view. "I don't see why you don't want me dating, Ronald. You yourself seem to be very keen on going out," spat Ginny to her brother. "If you hadn't realized, I'm not two years old."

Ron opened his mouth to answer, Ginny hissed in alarm. "Look!" she pointed at the footsteps leading to the Pageturners' hiding spot behind some evergreens. "No one in their right mind would go in there."

"Gin, it's probably just a couple of kids. Let's go," Ron whined.

"Oh, yeah? Well then how do you explain the size of those prints?"

Ron sighed and followed his sister behind the row of trees.

Damnit, thought Felix as the two approached. He considered using the Timestop, but no. It was too risky, especially in a world of magical creatures. Who knew what could go wrong? The branches around him rustled and parted as his face became level with that of the young witch and wizard.

Felix froze, as if staying still could make him undetectable.

"Who are you?" asked the red haired wizard, wide-eyed. "And why are you wearing Muggle clothes?"

"Why do you care?" Felix replied, giving up on attempting invisibility.

"Well you are a Muggle hiding behind trees. Any person with the slightest bit of sense would be curious," retorted Ginny.

"…and you know that I'm a Muggle…how?"

"You're wearing Muggle robes! Do you even know what a Muggle is?"

Felix sighed. "What if I told you that I knew who you were?"

"Well then you'd sure as hell come off as a stalker. Also, where are the others?" demanded the girl.

"What others?" the blond Pageturner pulled a look of fake innocence. If he couldn't hide himself, then at least he could protect his friends.

"There were three sets of footprints leading in here."

"F***," he swore under his breath.

"So where are they?" Ginny persisted.

"In there," Felix said, sighing in defeat and pointing behind another tree.

Ginny stepped into the tree and flung aside the branches, uncovering the two other Pageturners: a tall teenager with nut-colored skin and a firey tattoo, and beside him, a smaller girl with mousy brown hair, but eyes with a dangerous ferocity to them.

"So you're the Weaselys," said Vedlemez, raising an eyebrow at Ron, who was sputtering uncontrollably at the flaming band tattooed onto his arm.

"Who are you?" wondered Ginny, staring at the group.

Maxx sighed, exchanging looks with the others. "I suppose we will have to tell you sometime. Why don't you contact Harry Potter and Hermione Granger so that we can tell you all at once?"

Ginny nodded, satisfied, and scribbled a note on the pads of paper she and Harry had been using to communicate with. _Meet me at the Hog's Head. Bring Hermione_, it read.

Harry was just walking past the Three Broomsticks as the small notebook in his pocket suddenly burned red-hot. "Ow!" he yelled in surprise as he took it out. Shuffling the pad from hand to hand, he read the message inscribed onto it. "Ah," he murmured.

"Oi, 'Mione!" he shouted at the brunette witch sitting at a table inside the bar.

Hermione turned around and looked at him as he raced towards her. "What is it, Harry?"

"We have to go to the Hog's Head. Urgent message from Ginny," he explained.

"And what about me?" wondered Draco Malfoy.

_Damn_, thought Harry. _I forgot he was with her_. "Erm, I suppose you could come." So long as you don't mock my friends as well, he added silently.

"Well, then I suppose we should get going, shouldn't we, Potter," Malfoy said, interrupting Harry's train of thought.

"Oh. Right. Of course," he mumbled, dazed.

"Harry?" asked Hermione. "You're going the wrong way. The Hog's Head is this way."

She pointed in the opposite direction as he was going.

"Right. I knew that," Harry muttered, his cheeks blushing pink.

"So who are you then?"

The Pageturners exchanged uneasy glances, silently debating whether or not to tell the truth. "Er…we're Pageturners," said Maxx, finally revealing the secret.

All five witches and wizards looked skeptical. "And that means…what?" asked Ginny, who was evidently the spokesperson of the group.

"That means that, ah…you are characters from a book," admitted Felix, his eyes flickering anxiously across the table to where Harry Potter and his friends sat. He could always stop time and find a potion that would make them forget all of this if things got too bad, couldn't he?

There was an awkward silence as the five processed this information. Finally, Draco spoke up. "And how do we know that what you're saying is true and not a load of bull?"

The Pageturner considered this. "You can choose whether or not you believe it. It is fine by me if you don't," he answered with a hint of distaste.

Hermione slapped Draco semi-playfully as she said, "Go on then. Are there more worlds besides yours and ours?"

"Yeah…All of the books are worlds."

"Well then what are Pageturners? And why are you here?" demanded Ginny.

"Pageturners…make sure that everything is going as planned in the books," cut in Vedlemez.

"About the other worlds-how do you get from them to your world?" she wondered.

"We build portals from one world to another," Felix explained. "The way it works is that upon his or her acceptance ceremony, each Pageturner is taught certain powers, such as how to make a portal. Also, in school, they teach us how to control our element."

Ginny nodded obligingly.

As they sat in the Hog's Head, the blond boy explained to them the other...worlds. It didn't make sense to Harry at all. Still, he sat and listened diligently while Ginny nodded her head in rapt amazement. Harry let his mind wander...

A searing pain brought him back to reality. He wasn't in the hog's head anymore, rather looking at a face that haunted his dreams. A white face. A snake face. Voldemort.

His face was a mask of shock, surprise, and greed. He knew. His scar scorched again, and he was back in the Hog's Head, Ginny crouched over him, worry etched into her face.

"He knows," he croaked. The otherworlders looked at each other in horror.

"This is bad. Very, very, bad," the blond muttered.

"Harry," Ginny said, worried. "Should we alert Dumbledore?"

"That would probably be a good idea," responded Felix, standing up and grabbing his jacket. The others followed suit.

Hurrying back to the school, the eight pushed through crowds of young witches and wizards. Finally, they were standing in front of the gargoyles that guarded the headmaster's office.

"Lollipops," Harry told it and they moved aside, allowing them entrance to the spiral staircase.

"Come in," replied Dumbledore. The door opened and the five students and three Pageturners walked into the room. "Ah, I see you have brought some friends, Harry. Who are they, if I may ask?"

"They're Pageturners, sir."

"Which is?"

"We're from another world. Erm…Pageturners, I guess you could say, monitor the Book Worlds…er…worlds like yours…and make sure that things are running smoothly," clarified Felix.

"Ah. I suspected something like this," murmured the professor, almost to himself. "But I assume that is not all," he said, looking expectantly at the three strangers.

"He knows," admitted Felix finally. "Voldemort knows."

He watched as the old man grew pale. "We are in very grave danger," he rasped. "Is it all right that I contact Professors Snape and McGonagall? I must discuss this with them."

"Of course."

"Very well then," he said.

"Other worlds, Professor Dumbledore? Are you sure?" asked Severus Snape in his normal monotonous voice.

"Yes, Severus, I am quite certain."

"And you say He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named knows about them?" wondered Professer McGonagall anxiously.

"Unfortunately, yes. I was wondering what we should do with these three," Dumbledore said, gesturing to Vedlemez, Maxx, and Felix who were standing, stone-faced, beside him.

"I say we lock them up in the dungeons," replied Snape. "Who knows what they could do if they were allowed to go back? How do you know that they are not working for the Dark Lord?"

"Professor Snape!" exclaimed McGonagall, throwing a sharp glare at him.

"Minerva," Dumbledore murmured, attempting to make peace between the two. "Severus does have a point."

"Well that doesn't mean we should lock up innocent children. Look at them! They can't be any older than 17, Albus."

The statement was directed towards Dumbledore, but the headmaster was not listening. He was, instead, deep in thought. At last, he spoke up. "They can hardly be innocent." He paused for a moment. "We shall send them back, but not without guards. Harry, Miss Weasley, Ronald, Miss Granger, and Draco will go with them."

"But Professor," argued Snape.

Dumbledore put a hand up to silence him, going on to direct a question to Felix. "Now, young man, will you please make a portal?"

"Of course, sir," he replied, positioning his hands into the proper position. Then, he muttered an incantation and sparks flew out of his hand. Sparks that seemed to appear every color of the rainbow at once, ranging from a white so impossibly pure to a bottomless void of darkness that sucked you into its clutches. The wizards and witches stared in amazement as these sparks, these unfathomable objects of neither light nor liquid, appeared out of nowhere and formed a circular shaped door into the fourth dimension. What was thought to be unfeasible, even to magical beings, was now present right before their very eyes. All seemed entranced by the phenomenon of the portals. Finally, the silence was broken. "You had best get going," suggested Professor Dumbledore.

"Of course," replied Felix. "Why don't you go first, Maxx?"

Wordlessly, the girl stepped into the swirling tunnel through time and space. Draco lingered, uncertainly in front until someone shoved him in. "Hurry up! I can only keep it open for so long!" shouted Felix.

"Come on!" He dragged Hermione through the portal. Ron followed, along with the rest. The rear was brought up by Vedlemez and Maxx. About halfway through the portal, Harry's scar burst into flaming pain.

Again, Voldemort knew how to get to the real world.

Felix guessed this, and swore. Loudly.

_Thanks for reading! Please review!_

_~ResonatingLight666 and That Lovely Bad One~_


	3. Chapter 3

_So here is the long awaited Chapter Three. Thanks to anyone who has been reading these. ^ ^_

_Unfortunately, we own only our own characters and the Pageturners' world. Artemis Fowl and any other recognizable characters/books belong to their authors. We merely write fanfiction. *sigh* Ah well._

_Enjoy!_

Chapter Three

Even after seeing everything that goes bump in the night from three hundred other books, and seeing even angels and daemons in His Dark Materials, Haven City was the greatest of them all.

Of course, in the real world they would have been discovered by now, but the author wanted them hidden, and so they were.

Jai, Dareon, Elis, and Terra stood at the back of a shadowed alley. While the People had their shielding to make themselves invisible, the Pageturners had the elements. You didn't need a shield when you could manipulate Fire to hide your traces of heat, and when you could manipulate water vapor to hide your images, then you were good to go. You didn't need an invisibility cloak. The shadows helped a bit as well.

"Which way to the OPs booth?" Jai whispered to Elis, who pointed silently to a center plaza.

"Just in that building," Jai nodded.

"Okay, I'll be right back," then she ran to the building, Elis's water charm keeping her hidden in plain sight. She found the OPs booth easy enough, but Foaly was not there.

"Oh d*****!" she hissed, and didn't look where she put her foot. The floor sank down a little bit. Pressure pad. In that same instant she felt Elis's charm leave her. She was completely visible. No one had wandered down the hall yet, but she couldn't count on it staying that way. She had to get out, and fast, before somebody noticed the pressure disturbance.

A shadow lengthened on the right hand wall. It was accompanied by metallic footfalls, almost like hooves. There was no door at the other end of the hall.

She stayed rooted to the spot as a head poked itself around the corner. The head wore goggles, and had a tinfoil hat.

"I thought I felt a disturbance," Foaly said. "How in the name of Frond did you get down here?" Jai opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The centaur was holding something that seemed to drain her energy. She couldn't feel the Fire.

"Ah, so you feel the drain?" he held up the cell phone sized object. "Built it when Koboi got out of Atlantis. Are you one of her pets? No matter, we'll find out soon enough."

He tossed a small round object towards her. It seemed to explode when it hit the ground, and Jai fell to her knees when she felt the drain. Blackness consumed her as soon as she hit the ground.

She woke to the sound of sobbing. Her head ached where she had hit it, and a sour taste was in her mouth. She opened her eyes to a soft glow; the room itself was a normal room with white sheets, and walls. The door was bolted though.

"Ummm, who's there?" she croaked. The sobbing stopped.

"Jai? Oh Jai... Thank heavens. I- I thought you were dead. When they brought you in, you, you were so still, and, and what was I going to tell Felix? But, oh thank God you're alive," the voice was familiar, but took a moment for Jai to place it.

"Elis?" The voice sighed.

"Yes Jai, they took me too," Elis said with a sigh of defeat.

"How touching. Family reunion?" a cold voice said from somewhere in the hallway. Jai heard the bolt slide back on her door, which then opened. It was two feet thick. A raven haired youth stood at the threshold, a small woman at his side, Neutrino in hand. Artemis and Holly.

"Come with us. One foot out of line and Holly here shoots," Jai stood up, and followed.

Artemis's emotions were in turmoil. There was a girl, a girl, who had fooled Foaly's systems and gotten into Haven.

A girl who had cracked her head open when she had fallen, a girl whose head had healed itself before his eyes.

A girl that was probably working for Opal. That assumption made it easier when considering the fact that they might have to torture her for information.

Still, he couldn't really ever kill her, despite what he had said.

They reached the LEPrecon head quarters. Trouble Kelp was there, waiting for them.

Jai followed, considering her future prospects as a Pageturner. Things looked bleak, after this slip up, they would probably take away her Fire forever, and wipe her memories, then put her back in San Fran. Even Felix couldn't get her out of this one. What would he say, what would he think, if she forgot all about him, if she were forced to leave the safety of home?

Would he cry? Would he care?

Of course, this was considering she lived to get back home. Once again, the prospects looked grim.

She laughed from nerves. The two in front of her looked at her as if she were crazy. Huh, maybe they're right. Then they reached the HQ.

Trouble Kelp looked at Jai in curiosity.

"Who are you?" He asked.

"I am Jai."

"No. _What_ are you? We have seen you work magic, yet you are a mud woman. What are you," Jai smiled and put a finger to her lips.

"Confidential. Sorry." Trouble's face stormed for a moment, then calmed.

"You will tell us," he said, layering his voice with Mesmer.

"Sorry to bust your bubble, but I'm immune," which wasn't entirely true.

"Tell me." he said, pushing harder. Jai fell to her knees for the second time that day, experiencing agony unlike anything she had ever felt before. She moaned.

"Tell us." Holly and Trouble chorused. She screamed.

"NO!" But the cry wasn't hers. Artemis stood, his arms half outstretched towards Jai, his eyes on Trouble.

"Please, you're hurting her," Trouble sighed and rubbed his head.

"It is a matter of security Artemis, same as you. We need to interrogate her to know if we can trust her. I wish that she would participate willingly, but if she won't, then this is the only way. You can leave if you don't want to watch," Then Trouble went back to breaking Jai. He winced with her.

Darkness.

The pain was unbelievable. Like someone was ripping her ribcage open, and tearing out her lungs. And Jai knew first-hand what that felt like, from a close encounter with the Tartars in the Golden Compass. The worst part of this pain though, was knowing that even if she survived this, she would be exiled from the Pageturners.

She gasped as another wave of pain hit. It was like the breath was being sucked from her lips. Pageturners were made to resist the Mesmer, but that didn't mean that it didn't have a torture effect. There was a constant throbbing behind her eyes. Sweat trickled over face, from the exertion of holding out. Tears ran tracks down her face. She moaned again.

Trouble's voice faltered when he commanded her to tell for the hundredth time.

It hurt him, putting this girl in such pain. It pained him to know that, if she did not give in, he would have to do the same to her companion.

It hurt when he heard her moan. She only moaned. She'd only screamed that one time. She looked up at him with unseeing eyes that were blue as ice. He was blinding her with the pain. His stomach turned.

The People were normally peace loving. How could he be doing this?

It is for the LEP, he told himself, not quite believing. The girl let out a strangled moan, then opened her mouth as if to speak.

"Stop! Please stop... I'll show you what I can do if you just stop." Trouble nodded, and motioned for the guards to stop using Mesmer.

"Will you tell me what you are?"

"No."

"Very well. Get up," Jai stood up shakily, and cupped her hands. Sparks jumped from fingertip to fingertip, and a small flame burned in the palm of her hand. She drew her hands apart, and a veil of fire stretched between them. She molded the fire like dough, until it grew into a flower, which she stuck in her hair, and did not singe it. She breathed out, and the sparks went out, along with her energy.

"I can control fire. Life fire, Death fire, Fire, you name it, and I can show you." She mumbled this, fighting the sleep that was creeping in on the corners of her eyes.

"Take her back to her room, and let her sleep," Jai felt small hands lift her into the air. Warlocks.

"Cell. You mean cell," were her last words before she succumbed to sleep.

"Well. I think that it is time to return by now, don't you?" Dareon rubbed his hands together, and stared across the fire at Terra.

"What about Jai and Elis?" Terra asked.

Dareon barked out a laugh. "Honestly, not much can be hoped. If they are alive now, they won't be for long. We need to move on for the greater good of all Pageturners."

Terra was quiet for a moment. "What about Felix then? What will we tell him?"

"It... It would be better if he thought them dead. No false hopes, you see," Terra's jaw dropped.

"Better for him to think that his sister and best friend are dead! Better? How can that be better?" Her eyes blazed with fury.

"Do you think that it is easy for me either? I didn't care much for Jai, but Elis was a daughter to me!"

"And what makes you think that I'll keep my mouth shut?"

"If you dare tell, I swear upon the silver tower that I will make you wish that you were dead. Now come on, I'll make a portal," then he started muttering and moving his hands. A portal soon shimmered into existence.

"Come on. This will drop us in the center of the Spire." he pushed Terra into the silver light, and he soon followed.

Felix slouched in a chair near where Dareon's portal came through. He saw Terra fall through the light, look at him once with sad eyes, then she moved away for Dareon to come through.

Dareon came through, and Felix waited for Elis or Jai to come out. When Elis didn't, he felt the loss of his sister like a blow to his gut. When Jai didn't come through, it was like a knife through the ribs.

"Where are they?" he asked, panic clutching his chest. "Where's Jai?"

Terra looked at Dareon, who put a hand on Felix's shoulder.

"Dead."

White was everywhere in the Spire the next day. White, silver, and red. Mourning, Elis, and Jai. There was short ceremony for them, and two fifteen year old twins were inducted with Jai's and Elis's gifts. Replacements.

Their names were Edna and Edmund. Edmund got the fire, sleep, and healing. Edna got Water, Wind, Fire, and Earth.

They weren't given the now empty rooms near the top though. That would be insulting. They were given regular rooms near the library.

Felix smiled and gave them advice like everyone else, but when Edna brought up the topic of the two dead Pageturners,

"So the one that Ed got, were you close to her?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Oh, ummm, sorry."

"It is all right. You didn't know," then he slipped into the shadows, and up to the top of the Spire.

He opened the door of Jai's room, still expecting her to be sitting near the windows, watching the stars. Of course, she wasn't.

Her possessions were still there though, the essence of her still clung to the cold air. A spirit. Though everything she owned was there, the ones that were truly hers were no longer there. The locket was gone.

Same as Jai.

Engulfed by a sudden fit of rage, Felix blindly swung around his fist, knocking down everything within his range. A scream escaped his lips. A cry of anger, a cry of grief. Was there really any difference? Books fell, picture frames smashed. Things that were once Jai's, destroyed. Nothing mattered anymore. Not now that she was gone.

Suddenly coming to, Felix fell to the ground, clutching his bloodied hand. Uncontrollable tears fell from his eyes as he kneeled in the room that had belonged to Jai. How could she have just left him here? Why did it have to be her? But somewhere deep in his mind, he knew that she would never have died willingly.

Maybe, he thought, remembering one of his more recent conversations with her.

_She walked silently through the throngs of people to join him. He was watching the lovers floating on the canal._

_"What are we going to do about us Felix," she had sighed, a hand resting over his. He jerked it away, laughing scornfully._

_"Us? There is no us," he had said the last word in disgust. He remembered her stricken face, and her cringing away from him in the woods surrounding Forks._

Maybe she thought she had nothing left to live for. His heart thumped painfully with this realization. Maybe she had thought that her death would finally make him happy.

She was wrong. He loved her, and he would avenge her. He would make the person who killed her pay.

But if that person was, inadvertently, him, what was he to do?

_Thanks for reading. (YOU'D BETTER REVIEW OR ELSE I WILL SMASH YOUR HEAD IN!) Not really, since a way of transportation through computers, but review anyway, please! _

_~RL666 & TLBO~_


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4 is up! _

_We own only the Pageturners world and the Pageturners themselves; nothing more, nothing less._

Chappy 4: Dead

"Dead? How can they be dead?" Felix said, his voice a strangled whisper, trying to keep his anger in check. Dareon shook his head.

"Trolls. We were unprepared. They went quick. Not even fire could save them," Dareon sighed. "It was terrible, watching Jai die especially, seeing her flicker out like a candle, her flame smothered. She died painfully. Crushed. She lived a few minutes after that, but her body was too mangled to bring back. Elis' body was gone. Digested."

Felix felt the madness boil within him. He longed to jump up from where he was sitting and murder Dareon on the spot. Why did Dareon need to tell him these things? Was it to torture him even further than he already had? Still fresh in his mind were memories of the agony bestowed on him by the older man.

_A 10 year old Felix stood in the middle of the vast ballroom, frozen in place by chains 20 times stronger than any physical binding; chains of magic. His scream pierced the air as the whip sliced through the flesh on his back. Pain seared through his entire body, but no matter how hard he tried to run, he couldn't move. All he could do was yell and satisfy Dareon's cruel desires. _

_In a corner of the room cowered Maxx and Elis, kept under the close watch of Zoe, Dareon's wife. Maxx had her face buried in the elder girl's shoulder, her nine year old eyes unable to bear the horrible sight of her friend being tortured. Elis, however, refused to cry. She wouldn't give in and show them that they were hurting her, no matter how hard it was. She wouldn't allow them the pleasure of her pain and let them torment her twin more. She couldn't…_

_...and he should have done the same; he should have stood strong and tall as his foster father beat him. But he couldn't, for it was impossible to control his screams as the whip slashed through the air once more, like a snake preparing to strike…_

Felix flinched. The wounds from those beatings may have healed, but they had left behind scars that could never disperse. Scars, both mental and physical, served as a permanent reminder of the suffering he had been through. He held up a hand, signaling for Dareon to stop, for if he hadn't, there would have been horrible consequences.

Felix ran from the room. He found Vedlemez, Kai, and Maxx in the library. Maxx looked up.

"Well, are they back? How did the mission go?" she asked. He cast his gaze to his feet, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill over.

"Dareon and Terra made it back fine. Elis and Jai are dead," he forced himself to choke out that last word. In an instant, Kai and Maxx were at his side, consoling him. Vedlemez was still as stone, shock, horror, and surprise written all over his face. Felix shook Kai and Maxx off, and left to not even he knew where.

The gardens were cool and damp from the rain of that morning, as if the world itself had been mourning Jai and Elis' deaths. It wasn't common for Pageturners to die. They were so good at hiding themselves that casualties were few and far in between. To have two gone in the same day was unheard of.

Felix let out a choked sob. His chest felt hollow. He had lost his sister and best friend in the same hour. He heard the branches part behind him, but he did not turn.

"Felix. We are having a meeting. We need you there," the voice belonged to Zoe. He let himself be led away from the gardens, not finding his voice to protest.

She took him straight to the top of the Spire. They passed Jai's old room, and went on to Marcius' floor. Marcius was the leader of the Pageturners, a wise man who had seen much in his forty some years. Zoe took him to the council room.

He sat in his assigned chair next to Maxx. She whispered, "I know how you feel. I'm sorry." He looked up at her with eyes filled by seemingly interminable depths of anguish.

"Why should you? It's not like _your_ sister got killed," he spat.

Maxx, taken aback, retorted, "In case you forgot, Felix, Elis and Jai were just about the closest things I had." Felix saw the tears in her eyes as she said this. He turned away knowing that she was right, that she was indeed suffering just as much as he was, but not wanting to admit it.

Of the thirty chairs, only two were left empty. Finally Marcius entered the room. Everyone stood until he let them sit.

"Friends. We have suffered a great blow. Two of our own have walked the silent road, on to the Cliffs of Oblivion. There are those of us who, in losing them, have lost family."

His gaze fixed on Felix. "And friends."

He looked to everyone else. "These brave women, so early in their adulthood, will not be forgotten.

"We will have a service for them tomorrow. You will be able to mourn the day after and today. When the three days are up, we must move on, and continue with our duties." With that, Marcius stood and left the room. Felix let Maxx lead him from the room, and down into the gym.

"It may do you good to punch something."

Felix nodded, his arm already swinging back, ready to hit the nearest punching bag. Then he realized that once he started hitting things, he would be unable to stop. That nearest punching bag would eventually turn out to be Maxx. And so he stopped himself, forcing his arm back into its former position by his side. "Maxx, I can't," he murmured.

"It's alright."

"Stay here." she commanded. Felix went to the small tower section of the library. No one would come looking for him there.

Felix sat in the tower, his head tipped back, trying not to cry. He couldn't understand how it was possible. How could Jai have gone through so much, and yet just die like any other human? And why should he trust Dareon, anyway? Whether for Felix's own good or not, Dareon had lied before to him. But then another, more terrible thought hit him. Terra had gone through this, almost this exact same thing. What if she was behind this? What if _she _was the one who killed Jai? He pushed this thought away_. No. I'm being irrational. Why would she do that? _Nonetheless, although he hated to admit it, part of him-a part stored away in the back of his mind-secretly wanted Terra to have killed her. Then, at least, he would have someone to blame-someone to be angry at-for what had happened.

Felix was dragged from his thoughts by the appearance of Edna, the girl that was to replace Jai as a Pageturner. Already, he boiled with anger at the snotty look on her face. In her hand was a book with a name written on its pages. Looking closer, he saw that the name was Jai Fletcher.

"Where did you get that?" he wondered, nodding towards the book.

"That girl's room. What's her name? Jane Fetcher?"

"Put that book down. You really shouldn't have it," he whispered, barely controlling his anger and grief. How could that girl just take Jai's things without asking? The harsh realization that there was no longer anyone to ask just wrenched his heart more.

"Why not? She's dead, isn't she?" She skimmed the book a little bit, her eyes lighting up. "Ooh, I like this part," she squealed, ripping the page out of the book. The scrap of paper drifted slowly to the ground as Felix watched in horror. A jagged strip of whiteness still remained in its place, a small remembrance of the words it once held.

"Stop it!" he yelled, reaching out his arm. Felix composed himself. "You'll regret that," he said quietly.

"Will I?" she asked with fake innocence. Then, she held the book in her hands, half-and-half. Yanking her arms sharply apart, the papers were scattered. They went up in smoke before they hit they ground.

Felix could only gape at what the thirteen-year-old girl had done. In one instant, Jai's favorite book, one of her most prized possessions, had been destroyed, turned to nothing more than ashes. And all because of a girl barely more than a child; a girl with eyes as empty as her heart, unable to understand the pain and suffering he was going through. Unable to care.

After abandoning the library, he opened the door of Jai's room, half expecting her to be sitting near the windows, watching the stars. But of course, she wasn't. She was dead.

Her possessions were still there, the essence of her still clung to the cold air. A spirit. Though almost everything she owned was there, the ones that were truly hers were no longer present. The locket was gone.

Same as Jai.

Engulfed by a sudden fit of rage, Felix blindly swung around his fist, knocking down everything within his range. A scream escaped his lips. A yell of anger, a cry of grief. Was there really any difference? Books fell, picture frames smashed. Things that were once Jai's, ruined. Nothing mattered anymore. Not now that she was gone.

Suddenly coming to, Felix fell to the ground, clutching his bloodied hand to his chest. Uncontrollable tears fell from his eyes as he kneeled in the room that had belonged to Jai. How could she have just left him here? Why did it have to be her? But somewhere deep in his mind, he knew that she would never have died willingly.

Maybe, he thought, remembering one of his more recent conversations with her.

_She walked silently through the throngs of people to join him. He was watching the lovers floating on the canal._

_"What are we going to do about us Felix," she had sighed, a hand resting over his. He jerked it away, laughing scornfully._

_"'Us'? There is no 'us'," he had said the last word in disgust. He remembered her stricken face, and her cringing as she ran away from him and into the woods surrounding Forks._

Maybe she thought she had nothing left to live for. His heart throbbed painfully with this realization. What if she had thought that her death would finally make him happy?

She was wrong. He loved her, and he would avenge her. He would make the person who killed her pay.

But if that person was, inadvertently, him, what was he to do?

"Felix? Felix! Where are you?"

Her words echoed through the deserted corridor. No luck. Finally, Maxx came to Jai's old room. Silently, she prayed that Felix wasn't there. She hated seeing her friends cry. Watching Felix break, Felix who was so strong and immovable most times, was hardest. Her hopes of finding him all right were shattered when the sound of muffled sobs reached her ears.

"Hey, Felix?" Maxx tried her hardest to keep the sadness out of her voice.

More crying.

Slowly, afraid of what she might find, she opened the door.

Felix was kneeling in the middle of the room, bent over his clenched fist. Bright red droplets of blood were splattered on the floor. Maxx hurried over, falling to her knees next to him. "Felix," she murmured, resting her hand haphazardly on his back. "Felix, why?"

Felix shook his head, tears dripping off his chin and onto the ground.

"God, Felix," she whispered, trying to brush the wetness from his bright green eyes.

"Goddamnit, Maxx. F*** off already. What do you want from me?" he choked out.

Maxx could hear the hurt in his voice as he said it. "Fel-"

She was cut off by the bloodied fist that flew at her. A sickening crack sounded as it hit her nose.

"Will you effing shut up already? Honestly, Maxx. You sound like a freaking parrot! Well aren't you gonna answer me now?"

He threw another punch, this time in the stomach. Maxx gave out a barely audiable groan of pain as the blow hit her, doubling over. Blood already flowed steadily from her newly broken nose.

"Fe-"

"Shut up, will you?" Felix screamed, aiming yet another blow.

"S'DOP!" she shouted, wet tears furrowing their way down her already blood streaked cheeks.

"Fine," he spat, getting up. His eyes glinted dangerously. A glint all too familiar to Maxx. _Just like Dareon_, she realized with a start as she closed her own eyes, blocking out the sight of the emotionally unstable teenager. _My friend_. She let out a short, pained laugh. _How pathetic? The only close friends I have are two dead girls and a deranged lunatic._ A burst of sadness ran through Maxx's body as she remembered what this was all about. A last tear trickled down the side of her face and into her brown hair as she sank into unconsciousness.

_Thanks so much for reading! Please leave reviews! (Yes, we are talking about that little, insignificant blue link at the bottom of the page that turns purple when you press it…)_

_~RL666 & TLBO~_


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